Chapter 6: Grandma and Blood Xue Chiluo

"Because the medicinal bath packets the clan school gives to each of you little students aren't the ordinary stuff you find on the market. They're specially prepared for each of you by the clan school's pharmacists. So tomorrow, please have your parents come by to pick up your packets.

The medicinal bath packets issued by the clan school are not to be bought or sold.

They are not to be used by anyone else.

Understood?"

The little students all nodded in unison.

"Liu Shi, do we get the medicinal bath packet every month, or just this month?" Su Wuji suddenly stood up and asked.

"Every month, and they'll be adjusted according to your cultivation. One kind of packet for students who've just cultivated their first wisp of magic power, and another kind for students who've already advanced to the first layer of Qi Refining. As your cultivation improves in the future, the packets will be swapped out accordingly." Liu Shi explained to him.

"Then Liu Shi, say I've already taken this month's packet, but I break through to the second layer of Qi Refining in the middle of the month. The remaining packet won't suit me anymore—what do I do?"

"Bring it back, and I'll swap it for a new packet for you."

"Can't I keep it?" Su Wuji hurriedly asked.

"No, you must trade the old packet for the new one. If you insist on keeping it, then you won't get this month's new packet." Liu Shi said.

Su Wuji: "……"

"Any more questions? If not, sit down, I'll continue."

"No more, Liu Shi."

"Then sit down first."

Liu Shi looked at the students in the whole class and continued, "For cultivating the first wisp of magic power on the very first day, besides the medicinal bath packet reward, the clan school also gives a reward of actual spirit stones.

First place through third place, ten spirit stones each.

Fourth place through tenth place, three spirit stones each; the rest get no spirit stones.

The little students whose names I call, come up and get your spirit stones.

Su Wuji."

Su Wuji hurried up to collect his spirit stones. As the first person to cultivate magic power today, Su Wuji drew the attention of the entire class.

Su Wuji wasn't afraid of the stares at all; he ran up with a grin and took his spirit stones.

The little students who received spirit stones next were all stared at by the whole class. Some of the timid ones even walked with their arms and legs out of sync.

After handing out the tenth-place spirit stones, Liu Shi asked again, "Did anyone break through to the first layer of Qi Refining this afternoon?"

Su Jin hurriedly raised her little hand.

Liu Shi took a look, then laughed and said, "It's you three again. Fine, come up and let me check. If you've truly advanced to the first layer of Qi Refining, each of you will be rewarded with thirty spirit stones."

Su Jin, Su Wuji, and Su Cheng walked up to the platform again.

"Liu Shi, does every student who breaks through the first layer of Qi Refining get a reward of thirty spirit stones?" Su Jin, who had just received another batch of spirit stones, hurriedly asked.

"No, only students who break through the first layer of Qi Refining on the first day get the spirit stone reward. Thirty per person." Liu Shi said.

Su Jin listened and immediately decided inwardly that it seemed only the very best batch of students got the spirit stone reward.

She'd have to keep working hard for good results in the future.

But attending the clan school was really great—she'd earned forty spirit stones today, enough to earn back what yesterday's medicinal bath had cost her daddy.

Returning to her seat, Su Jin secretly clenched her little fist.

She had to work even harder to earn money—cough cough, she meant study.

Liu Shi encouraged a few more little students, and when he saw the time was up, he dismissed everyone for the day.

The moment Liu Shi left, the little students all rushed out of the schoolroom.

Su Yue and Su Lan ran off without a word, not even glancing at Su Jin.

Su Jin: Weren't you waiting for me yesterday?

When Su Jin got home, Su Jian was already waiting for her.

Su Jin hurriedly recounted her diligent performance at school today.

Su Jian was overjoyed upon hearing it. "Not bad at all—forty spirit stones in a single day, on par with your daddy's income for a whole month."

"Hehe." Su Jin laughed.

"Why didn't you ask for the Spirit Refining Cultivation Technique?" Su Jian asked.

"I forgot." Su Jin suddenly realized she'd forgotten about it.

Su Jian burst out laughing.

"Fine then, your big brother will go pick up your medicinal packet tomorrow and take care of this matter while he's at it."

"Hehe."

After dinner, Su Jian let Su Jin go back to review her lessons. He then called his eldest daughter over to check her lessons.

Su Jin's eldest niece, Su Hua, was also at the clan school. She was already in third grade.

In big brother Su Jian's words, his eldest niece's grades at the clan school were middling, but she was still persevering. He also said his eldest niece might not be exceptionally talented, but at least she had a bit of diligence going for her.

As far as Su Jin was concerned, her eldest niece had more than just a bit of diligence.

She was simply far too diligent.

The girl would light her lamp and start previewing her lessons before dawn, and only go to bed near midnight after working late into the night.

A true marvel.

Back in her own room, Su Jin hurried over to check the little basin where she was soaking her seeds.

The little seeds looked like they'd plumped up a bit.

They had some vitality too.

But they still hadn't sprouted.

Even with spirit water, the seeds would still need another day or two to sprout.

Thinking about the seeds sprouting, Su Jin hurried over to the little flowerpot where she'd planted the little red ginseng seeds last night. She hadn't taken back her Little Wu Tian, so the pale-golden light cover had been sitting over the flowerpot the whole time.

By rights, the Little Red Ginseng seed should have sprouted long ago.

Yet the pot still held only black soil.

Su Jin picked up the miniature rake her father had made for her and raked through the flowerpot. Gone!!

The seed had actually vanished.

Su Jin frowned in thought: "Where did it run off to?"

"Ancestor, are you looking for me?"

A childish voice echoed from within her sea of consciousness.

Su Jin suddenly realized: wasn't this the Blood Xue Chiluo?

"How did you know I was looking for you?"

"I sensed Ancestor looking for me," said Blood Xue Chiluo.

Su Jin unconsciously found herself beneath a vast, pale-gold light dome. This space covered roughly four or five mu, with a height of three or four zhang.

The ground was all black soil.

Near the center stood a tiny sprout shimmering with greenish-blue treasure light.

The sprout still had only a single leaf.

However, its second leaf already had a pointed tip.

"Are you Blood Xue Chiluo?"

"Yes, Ancestor."

"Blood Xue Chiluo, why do you call me Ancestor?"

"Ancestor is Ancestor; if I don't call you Ancestor, what should Blood Xue Chiluo call you?" the sprout asked, trembling its tiny leaves.

"Hmm, can't you just call me Su Jin?"

"I don't feel right about it; I feel I should call you Ancestor," the sprout insisted.

"Then... fine. Call me whatever you like." Although Su Jin didn't quite like being called Ancestor by the sprout, she actually felt in her heart that this title was somehow correct.

"Then, Blood Xue Chiluo, how did you end up here?" Su Jin asked again.

The seed in the pot was gone, yet the Little Red Ginseng had taken root and sprouted within her sea of consciousness?

Was there anything stranger than this?

"I don't know how I got in. I broke through the soil and sprouted, and here I was," Blood Xue Chiluo answered honestly.

Su Jin: "..."

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